Running Away
by Sheytune
Summary: Post S7 finale. Brennan and Max are on the run when Max is detained by the authorities, leaving Brennan on her own with Christine. Will Booth be able to get his family back? And if they come home, will his relationship with Brennan survive?
1. Innocent Bystander

**Note: **Look, it's an actual, intentional multi-chapter fic! I can't believe it either.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

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She'd never really understood the attraction of shopping for sport, but one of the side-effects of her friendship with Angela was that she'd learned her way around a typical mall. Even more importantly, she'd learned that at one o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, a tired woman, an old man, and an infant would be absolutely unremarkable in a mall food court.

The food court was a fascinating study of American society. A sullen preteen girl sat with her mother at the next table. Not far away, two women in their fifties dropped piles of shopping bags at their feet and settled into their chairs with a sigh of relief. In another direction, a group of three teenage boys were sitting on the backs of the chairs, preening for the group of teenage girls a few tables away. Three tables over, two uniformed police officers drank steaming paper cups of coffee, a crackling radio on the table in front of them. At the closest table to the doors, a group of elderly men sat, cackling over a box of forbidden donuts.

They'd been traveling for hours, and even a hard plastic chair was a welcome change from the saggy, broken seat in their latest beat-up old car. Max slid into the chair across from her and passed her salad and bottled water across to her, deliberately failing to notice her glare at his deluxe hamburger, fries, and soda.

They ate in silence. Days of no one but each other for company had made idle chit chat unnecessary, and in the crowded mall, any discussion of more serious topics was unwise.

Christine started to fuss as Brennan finished her salad, and she nodded towards the family restroom. "Looks like she's hungry. I'll be back in a little while, Dad", she said as she slung the diaper bag over her shoulder and picked up the car seat.

When Christine had been fed and changed, Brennan re-packed the diaper bag and walked down the narrow hall to the food court. As she got close enough to see the formerly-busy area, her footsteps slowed. The tables were deserted, with groups of people standing and talking in hushed voice. There was a man on the ground in front of the bank, one cop standing over him while the other one talked with Max.

She must have looked stunned, because a young woman smiled at her. "You missed the bank robbery. That guy on the ground came running out and smacked right into the old guy."

Brennan forced herself to smile in return. "Oh! That would be exciting." She nodded at the appropriate spots as the woman babbled on, speculating on what would happen next.

Before long, more cops arrived and started gathering names and phone numbers. Brennan readily offered the ID Max had purchased for her, explaining why she had missed the whole thing. Seconds later, she was free to go.

She meandered away from the tables, getting close enough to her father to overhear one of the cops say, "I'm sorry, sir, we'll need you to come down to the station to make a statement."

They'd talked about a plan B, what to do if it all started to fall apart, and she knew what she needed to do. She quickly found an acceptable store and picked up a few changes of clothing, a large purse, and a pair of sunglasses before walking to the mall door. Near the exit, there was a dedicated phone for a local taxi company. She picked it up and was assured that a cab would be by shortly. When it arrived, she slid into the backseat and secured Christine's car seat, saying quietly, "The airport, please."

The departure area was quieter than usual. There were the usual impatient business travelers, families with hungry and bored children, and people who hadn't flown in so long that they were confused by the changes to the security procedures. There were also the typical stores selling books, luggage, snacks, and souvenirs. She browsed through the stores until she was sure no one was following her, then bought a small carry-on bag and some scarves. She found a convenient bathroom and changed her clothes, tied back her blond hair, removed her cell phone battery, and discarded her cell phone. She then moved the clothes she had been wearing at the mall, the contents of the diaper bag, the purse, and the remaining changes of clothing to the carry-on bag. Stuffing the diaper bag into the trash receptacle, she went up to the arrivals level, where she stepped onto a shuttle for an airport hotel.

At the hotel, she walked confidently towards the elevators, ducking into the restroom when she was out of sight of the front desk. She changed into a long skirt and long-sleeved blouse, switched her belongings from the carry-on suitcase to the purse, and carefully arranged a scarf to cover her hair. When she was ready, she picked Christine up and asked the front desk to store the car seat and suitcase until evening, explaining that she had checked out earlier. She walked towards the exit, put the sunglasses on, and stepped into the afternoon sun. Five minutes later, she was in a cab speeding back towards downtown. An hour after that, she was on a bus out of town.

**BbB**

He knew he was in trouble when the cop who entered his driver's license number in the computer stopped talking for a second.

That idiot Telman had promised IDs that would stand scrutiny, with full system backup. Obviously, he'd lied.

He took a deep breath and got ready to ooze charm, like that lawyer had once accused him of doing. After all, he was a law-abiding citizen, just an innocent bystander to a robbery gone wrong.

The cop who'd taken his statement was a seasoned veteran, though, and soon they were taking his fingerprints.

As he waited for the match he knew they'd find, he hoped Tempe had gotten away.

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	2. Hope and Direction

**Note: **Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter – I love hearing what you think. Also, I don't want anyone to think I'm going to _continue _posting every 2 days. I'm hoping for twice a week going forward, but it might not even end up being that.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

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Booth straightened in his chair and rolled his shoulders. Another day spent in an uncomfortable chair, investigating crimes committed by terminally dull accountants. Who would have thought there'd be so many dweebs with nothing better to do but cook the books?

He hated investigating white collar crime. He wasn't going to complain, though – being the partner of a fugitive left him on shaky ground, and he couldn't face another day in that empty house. He needed to work.

The squints were doing everything they could – he knew they were – but so far, it hadn't been enough. He wanted her home – preferably before he lost his mind.

Adding insult to injury, he was stuck in the bullpen, demoted until it was officially determined whether he'd known his partner was going to flee with their child. Some of the agents stuck by him – he'd heard Agent Shaw tell Petersen to shut up after a crack about "how the mighty had fallen", and he knew Charlie was staunchly loyal. Hacker had made a subtle comment that made him think that he was on their side, but had immediately followed that with "off the record only, Seeley, I can't be seen to support a murderer, even if she only killed to protect that sweet little girl".

Others weren't as supportive, and he had to ignore comments that were unkind at best, inflammatory at worst. Kowalski, who he'd always thought was an ass, all made a point of stopping by to comment on his demotion. "Of course", Kowalski added, "what could you expect when your girlfriend murdered some crazy ex of hers and ran off with your kid?"

That one almost got him suspended again.

Mostly, he kept to himself these days. He didn't have the energy for idle chit chat, much less for the scavengers who wanted to be the one to get the inside scoop. He just wanted to work, to pass the time until he could hold his little girl again.

His fellow agents mostly left him alone, whether from sympathy or fear, he didn't know. It was strange suddenly being the last one to know what was going on, and when he walked in late one morning after breakfast with Cam, he was surprised to see everyone swivel to look at him.

He understood why when Charlie quietly took him aside to say. "They caught Max Keenan. He's in the interrogation room downstairs."

**BbB**

He'd been in the system before, and he knew that when cops wanted to, they could use every trick in the book to stall – moving prisoners from one precinct to another or "accidentally" losing paperwork, to name a couple.

This time, the system moved far faster than he'd hoped. Less than 24 hours after the would-be bank robber slammed into him, he was being shepherded into the familiar FBI building.

He knew they would have done the obvious – checked the recently called numbers in his cell phone, sent an agent out to the motel he had foolishly kept the receipt for, located the previous ATM visits for the card in his wallet – so he readily supplied information he knew they already had.

He was just glad he could honestly claim he didn't know where Temperance was. With any luck, they'd cut him loose and he'd be able to keep them busy long enough to buy her more time.

**BbB**

It took five hours before he was allowed to talk to Max. By that time, they'd traced the numbers in Max's phone, followed his trail as far back as they could, and asked hundreds of questions, hoping to sift the lies from the truth.

Only after all of that was done was he allowed to talk with Bones's father.

He was torn between anger at the man who had ripped his family apart and the hope that Max would be the one to help him bring his partner and their daughter home. The hope won – he couldn't pass up a chance to find out where they were.

He wanted to strangle Max when he said he couldn't help, but something in Max's gaze told him there was more to the story, that he there was something he was missing. Chiding himself for his wishful thinking, he strode out of the interrogation room and went straight to the only allies he could count on.

He knew Hodgins could do his bug-and-particulate thing to tell him where Max had been, but he _knew_ where Max had been. What he needed to know was where Bones would go next.

Later that afternoon, surrounded by squints in Bones's house of science, he finally figured out who could help him.

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Thoughts? Any idea who can help him?


	3. Friends and Allies

**Note: **It's not Zach. I considered it, but I don't think it fits for Booth to turn to him for help. Let's just get that out of the way now. :)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

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Pelant was good, but he wasn't as clever as he thought he was. He hadn't expected Brennan to run, and he didn't believe that they had a computer expert who was as good as he was.

Angela was good – very good – and so when Booth told her he needed to be untraceable, she was more than ready to take Pelant on. At 11 am on Saturday, as Pelant watched him toss some popcorn into his mouth and stare listlessly at the big screen TV in his man-cave, Booth stepped off a bus in a small town on the coast and walked to an ask-no-questions motel on the edge of town. It was the perfect meeting place – the kind of place where paying in cash was expected and desk clerks who wanted to keep their jobs made a habit of instantly forgetting their customers.

As planned, he rented a room in the back of the motel and used a disposable cell phone to send a text containing only the room number. An hour later, a battered truck pulled into the the parking spot outside his room. The rusted door opened and out stepped Russ Brennan.

**BbB**

She'd been poor before. When she was a senior in high school, most of the money she earned at her part time job was given to her foster parents for room and board. In college, she lived on a shoestring budget, wearing clothes until they were rags and eating what she knew even then was a less than nutritious diet.

After she'd graduated, she'd worked to pay off her student loans, still living as frugally as possible. Once they were gone and her two careers became quite lucrative, she started to relax the purse strings. Of course, she still put her money in sensible investments and sheltered as much as possible for retirement, but she allowed herself small luxuries – a nicer apartment, an extensive wardrobe, pricier bottles of wine.

When she'd chosen to run, she'd withdrawn as much as she'd been able to, but she'd had to move fast. Max had somehow been able to access more of her money – she'd worry about how he'd done that later – but now that she was on her own, she had to face the facts. She was running low on cash.

It was possible that Max was fine, that he'd be waiting at their next rendezvous point, but it was more likely that he'd been arrested. If that were the case, what did the authorities know? Was it safe to use the ATM card in her wallet?

If she'd been on her own, she would have had options – working an under the table job that paid in cash, hitchhiking, sleeping in a bus terminal or on a bench at a train station – but Christine limited the acceptable choices. She had to come up with a plan.

**BbB**

Booth couldn't believe it had taken him so long to realize that Russ could help. Hell, Russ had been on the run with Max not so long ago. Brennans didn't gather at a campground, hang out at the cottage or go on a family cruise like other people did. Instead, they held their family reunions while running from the law.

He quickly filled Russ in on what they knew. Max was safe in DC, after having been arrested in Albuquerque. Bones and Christine had disappeared, presumably by choice.

As he'd seen him do so many times before, Russ listened quietly. When he finished talking, he asked, "Where would she go, Russ?"

His almost-brother-in-law looked him in the eye. "If I tell you, you could lose your job. You could be arrested. And there's nothing you can do for them if you're outside the FBI."

"If it's a choice between my family and my job", Booth answered grimly, "I choose Bones and Christine".

**BbB**

Brennan sat quietly on the blanket, watching Christine push herself up on her hands and knees,hover there shakily for a moment, then collapse back to the ground. The park was filled with flowers and green grass, and although it promised to be another hot, sunny day, it was still cool enough to make the outdoors enjoyable.

She tried to enjoy the moment with her daughter, but all she could think was that Max wasn't going to show. This was day three – the last of the days she was supposed to wait – and so far, there had been no sign of him.

If he didn't appear, the plan was that she'd travel to the next city, to the next meeting place. That would cost money, though – money she didn't have.

Besides, she was tired of running.

She mentally weighed her options. Could she risk using the ATM card? Without it, she wouldn't get far, but using it meant risking arrest – the very thing she'd run to avoid.

Her musings were interrupted by a rough, unfamiliar voice. "Joy?"

**BbB**

"Babe?"

Angela grunted, not looking up from her computer screen.

"Angie", Hodgins said, moving to lean against the desk in front of her, "You need to sleep."

"I think I'm onto something", Angela replied, brushing that one strand of hair that refused to stay in her ponytail back behind her ear yet again.

"Uh huh", Hodgins's voice was amused, "I want to catch this guy as much as you do, Ange, but that's not going to happen if you collapse from exhaustion." He reached out and captured her hands, pulled her to her feet. "Come to bed. Tomorrow I'll take Michael to the zoo or the park or something. You can work all day."

Angela pulled away and scribbled a cryptic note on a scrap piece of paper, then looked at him for what felt like the first time in days. "So help me, Hodgins, if he comes home with _another _bug for that collection you claim is his …."

"Hey!" Hodgins held up his hands in a gesture of innocence. "I promise I'll feed them." Angela glared and he capitulated. "No bugs."

Angela thought for a second then added, "No reptiles, no amphibians, no creatures of any kind."

Hodgins planted a quick kiss on her lips, his eyes crinkling in that smile that she loved, "But Angie, the reptiles would eat the bugs …."

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I hate the term man-cave. I just had to share that.

Thoughts? (About the chapter, about the story, about the term man-cave?)


	4. Movement

**Note: **Thanks to those who reviewed – reviews make me want to post sooner. (I can't always _do_ it, but I want to.)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

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"Keenan!"

Max rolled himself into a sitting position on the hard cot. "Yeah?"

There was a clang as the guard opened the door to his cell. "Your lawyer's here."

**BbB**

He knew where she was.

More accurately, he knew where she _should_ be.

The question wasn't whether he was going to go get her – _of course_ he was going to go get her. The question was how he was going to get there without Pelant – and the better portion of the FBI – finding out.

Even though he didn't have all the answers, he walked through the door of their too-empty house with a spring in his step. Things were looking up. He knew where she was. All he had to do was figure out how to get there without endangering her more.

And from what Russ said, he had no more than 3 days before she moved on.

**BbB**

Max sat quietly in the hard chair, hiding his impatience as he waited for his visitor to arrive. He hadn't hired a lawyer, but he also knew that conversations between prisoners and their lawyers couldn't be monitored. His colleagues knew that, too. Someone must have a private message for him.

After what seemed like hours – but was likely only a couple of minutes – Lafitte slid into the chair across from him and pulled a file folder from a briefcase. "Mr. Keenan?", he asked, as the guard shut the door behind him.

When the door had clicked shut, Max leaned forward, his forearms flat on the table. "What's the message?"

Lafitte glanced around as if expecting someone to be lurking in the corner before answering. "Morgan found Joy. He gave her the cash and the ID but she wouldn't go with him. She wants to find her own way."

Max leaned back. "She always has."

**BbB**

The five conspirators sat in the game room at the Hodgins' manor, tossing around possibilities.

Transportation was an issue, of course, but the bigger issue was keeping Pelant in the dark. Angela had done it once, but while Booth spending a lazy Saturday at home was plausible, he was expected to show up at work during the week – and leaving the house meant being visible on any number of video cameras in public places. Supplying images to all of those cameras at the appropriate intervals was almost impossible.

It was Cam who pointed out the obvious. "We need a reason for you not to be mobile. Not just a video of you doing something dull, but a story, a reason why you _have _to stay in one place."

Hodgins leaned forward and snagged a handful of chips from the table in front of him. "We could get someone to arrest him. He must have friends in the FBI who could help."

"Or enemies", Angela added with a smile.

"Or he could be injured", Wendell added, "Maybe a check gone wrong? We have a hockey game tomorrow night."

"Yes", Cam added, "Injured would work. Paul can help."

"Paul's a gynecologist", Booth pointed out.

"Paul's a _doctor_ – one with hospital privileges. You think Pelant will take our word for it?"

"Or", Angela contributed, "Booth could voluntarily enter rehab for a drinking problem."

"I don't _have _a drinking problem", Booth growled.

"You don't have a vagina either. Somehow I don't think Pelant will buy that you've been hospitalized with gynecological issues.", Angela answered, "Brennan and Christine have been gone for months. You could have developed a drinking problem."

"What about a retreat?", Booth suggested. "Go up to some monastery, no cameras, no outsiders – just prayer and contemplation for me and a bunch of monks. Or, in this case, just a bunch of monks."

"Let's not share the whole story with the monks", Cam suggested.

**BbB**

Thanks to her father – and Max's questionable friend Morgan - she had a cell phone in her purse, an ATM card in her wallet.

She could breathe again.

Metaphorically, of course. If she literally hadn't been able to breathe, she would had died.

Morgan had offered to hide her, but Max's known associates were thieves and murderers. Although she was sure Max wouldn't knowingly hurt Christine, that didn't mean that his friends would be as safe.

She walked through the crowds of office workers on their way back from lunch, pondering the only remaining question – should she stay, find a safe place and give Christine a little stability, or should she go to the next town – and the next – until Max could catch up with her?

She thought of the way her daughter's face lit up when she saw Max and knew she had to keep moving. Christine had already lost her father. Brennan vowed to do everything she could to keep her daughter's grandfather in her life.

**BbB**

"Angela!"

At the sound of Cam's voice, Angela stopped in her tracks. Cam hurried over, her heels clicking against the marble floor. She looked nervously around, and then asked quietly, "Hodgins said you might have something?"

Angela nodded, uncomfortably aware that her hunch might not pan out. "Maybe. I don't know yet. I have some more work to do.

Cam's face lit up. "That's _great, _Angela."

"Look", Angela said, "Don't tell Booth, OK? I don't want to get his hopes up."

Cam nodded, placing her hand on Angela's forearm in a gesture of solidarity. "Don't worry, mum's the word. If you need anything – equipment, computer time, anything …."

"I'll let you know", Angela affirmed.

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As always, I'd love to hear what you think.


	5. Progress

**Note: **How is it that after all this time, my spell check doesn't recognize the word "Hodgins"?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

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The best part of being assigned grunt work was that no one cared whether he actually accomplished anything. He arranged for time off, sent an e-mail to the Jeffersonian crew to tell them he was going on a week-long retreat, packed his bag, and asked Sweets for a ride. He felt bad about using the kid, but telling Sweets his plan meant telling _Daisy_ his plan. He wasn't going to trust his family to Daisy's ability to keep her mouth shut.

He'd deliberately chosen a place off the beaten track, and as they drove through fields scorched and wilting in the unusually hot summer sun, he felt the oppressive blanket of anger and guilt that had covered him since he'd watched Bones drive away slide off his shoulders.

Finally he was _doing_ something.

He knew he was being followed – the FBI still believed that he knew where Bones was – and he waved jauntily at the agents as Sweets turned down the long drive to the monastery. He shook the kid's hand and murmured a sincere "Thanks, Sweets". Duffel bag over his shoulder, he left the psychologist behind and walked into the imposing entryway. Before long, he was shown to a simple room, complete with a narrow single bed, hard wooden chair, and a tiny closet with three wire coat hangers.

He'd chosen a silent retreat, and he spent the afternoon walking through the grounds, soaking up the tranquility. When it was time for the evening meal, he walked in silence to the dining hall. The food was surprisingly good, and he found himself wishing Brennan was there to appreciate the fresh-picked beans, hearty whole wheat bread, and homemade goat cheese.

He sat in the chapel during evening prayers, the setting sun illuminating the beautiful stained-glass windows, and prayed for his family – for Bones and Christine, for Parker, for Jared and Padme, for Pops. He prayed that the squints would do their thing, that good would win out over evil, and that Russ was right about where Bones was.

When prayers were over, he walked to his solitary room, lay down on the hard bed and waited for the monks to fall asleep.

**BbB**

She wasn't used to being the sole caretaker of an infant. Christine was generally an agreeable child, but it was still harder than she'd expected. She missed being able to take a shower without worrying about where to put the baby. She missed her occasional runs, when the only thing that mattered was the thudding of her feet on the pavement. She missed having an adult to talk to.

She missed Max.

More than that, she missed Booth. How was he doing? Was the FBI very upset with him for letting her escape?

What about their friends? Were they angry with her? Were they working to catch Pelant so that she could go home?

She held her daughter close and wished she were at home, laptop open in front of her while Booth watched some televised sporting event he cared far too much about and Christine slept peacefully in her crib.

**BbB**

The scream echoed through the open rafters of the Jeffersonian. Hodgins dropped a jar of beetles, not even noticing Fisher's yelp as the insects scattered in all directions. Cam tossed her scalpel aside in a manner that would have made her severely lecture any intern caught behaving in a similar fashion. She ran, pulling off her contaminated gloves as she went. They converged on Angela's office. Angela was standing in front of the Angelatron, her hand over her mouth, her eyes riveted on the screen. She didn't look up at their noisy entrance, and finally Hodgins asked, "Angie? Are you OK?"

"Oh", Angela answered dreamily, "I'm better than OK. I've got him."

**BbB**

Maxine had been her friend since their baby girls had played beside each other in the sandbox, and without Maxine, she was pretty sure she would have gone plum crazy weeks ago.

When she was a girl, summers had been long and lazy, days for riding the bike her older brother had finally handed down, sitting on the stoop with a treasured ice cream cone, and battling mosquitoes and watching for gators in her cousin's little boat.

As a young mother, she would have loved a summer to spend with her girl, building sandcastles on the beach or taking trips to petting zoos or amusement parks. Instead, she went to work, leaving her precious daughter with babysitters or sending her to day camps.

Now, with her daughter had grown and her focus fully on her career, she was suspended and had nothing to do with herself but listen to Maxine talk about her new granddaughter and hope those Jeffersonian eggheads figured out how to get that little twerp Pelant soon. She hated to think what kind of state the prosecutor's office would be in when she got back if they didn't.

She wasn't sure what state she'd be in, either.

According to Samuel – who was a good kid and a decent assistant prosecutor, even if he still had a lot to learn – the investigation into Pelant was going nowhere fast. He was the only one the office that she regularly heard from these days, and he was the one who called to tell her they'd caught Max Keenan – but not Dr. Brennan or her daughter.

Caroline poured herself another glass of sweet tea and wondered whether she should try calling Seeley Booth yet again. No, she decided. She'd let him come to her. It wasn't like he had bothered to return any of the three messages she'd already left. Surely the man knew by now that she was on his side – at least when it came down to a choice between him and a federal agency foolish enough to believe that a brilliant, world-renowned forensic anthropologist would murder a friend and leave his body somewhere it could be discovered. She'd had her differences with Dr. Brennan, but if she knew anything, it was that if the good doctor decided to become a homicidal maniac, she wouldn't be so careless.

She turned the fan up a notch and took a sip of her tea.

The phone rang, the caller id displaying "C SAROYAN", and she set down her glass to answer it.

_Finally_.

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Thoughts? Also, my plan is to update twice a week – probably Wednesday and Saturday. I think we've got 3 or 4 chapters left.


	6. Lost and Found

**Note: **Now we're making progress. It looks like I'm way out to lunch on the number of chapters left – I'm 2.5 ahead of you, and not at the end yet.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

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Booth reached the shelter of the trees and checked his compass. It was darker than he would have liked – the full moon was obscured by clouds – and his eyes had adjusted as much as they were going to.

It was just over 5 miles to the highway, and he had 2 hours to get there.

**BbB**

Brennan paid her admission, strapped Christine into her rented stroller, and walked into the zoo. She was early, and she walked from exhibit to exhibit. Christine was too young to really enjoy the zoo, but she watched the animals quietly, an unusually solemn expression on her face.

Brennan's feet were tired when the meeting time finally arrived, and she settled herself by the underwater dolphin dome. She didn't really expect Max to show up – she wasn't even sure if he was out of jail – but she had to try.

When she left three hours later, she told herself it was irrational to be so disappointed.

**BbB**

"Dude!"

Hodgins looked up as Sweets raced up the stairs to the platform, setting the alarms blaring. Hodgins reached for his badge, only to find himself smothered in a bear hug from the enthusiastic psychologist.

Hodgins broke free and scanned his pass. In the sudden silence, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's going on, Sweets?"

Sweets was almost beside himself. "I just heard! You _did it_, man! Charges against Dr. Brennan have been dropped!"

Hodgins nodded indulgently. "I know, Sweets. Angela got him."

"Come on!" Sweets was bouncing from foot to foot, too excited to sit still. "We have to go tell Booth!"

"We can't, Sweets."

"Sure we can, man! I know he's on retreat, but he won't mind if we interrupt him for this. You can drive up with me! Or should we call?" He looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded decisively. "We should call."

"He's not there."

At Hodgins's terse reply, Sweets sobered. "What?"

"He's not on retreat", Hodgins said. "He's gone to bring her home."

**BbB**

The radio station dissolved into static and Booth hit scan. After an classical station, a talk show inexplicably dedicated to poodles, and someone ranting about the need to stockpile supplies against a zombie invasion, he came across a station playing classic rock. Three songs later, they announced it was time for entertainment news.

Booth drove along, ignoring the chatter on the radio, until the phrase "forensic anthropologist" made him pay attention. "Well", he heard the female announcer say, "The charges have been dropped."

"So she used to solve murders and write books, then she killed a man and took off before they could arrest her?", the male announcer asked.

"Maybe she didn't do it", his partner answered.

"Yeah", he replied. "I guess we'll find out as this story plays itself out. Coming up next, traffic and weather."

**BbB**

She found the dolphins soothing.

Brennan sat in front of the tank for the third day in a row. No one had contacted her, and it would soon be time to move on. By tomorrow morning, she'd be on her way to a new city.

She'd once thought that dolphins must want to escape, to swim free in the ocean. Now she envied them. She'd give anything to go back home.

**BbB**

Booth impatiently waited for the cashier to give him his ticket. Russ had told him the zoo was their likely meeting place, but he only had an hour before closing and the zoo was too large for him to find her by chance.

The methodical teenager finally slid his change and the ticket through the window and he rushed through the gate.

Almost immediately, his worries disappeared. Right in front of him was a sign that said "Marsh Dolphin Theater".

**BbB**

Christine sat in her stroller, captivated by the baby dolphin. Occasionally, she'd get distracted by the colourful toys clipped to the bar of her stroller, but she always returned to the young dolphin.

Brennan watched, remembering childhood visits to aquariums with her mother. Christine was too young to remember this moment, but with any luck, they'd have other chances.

Part of her thought she should leave, make arrangements to move to the next town, but a hope she couldn't explain told her to stay.

Besides, it was only an hour until the zoo closed. She'd have to leave soon, anyway.

She heard steps behind her and turned, expecting a stranger or one of Max's cronies or maybe even Max himself. It took her a second to believe it was really _Booth_ standing in front of her.

She launched herself into his arms, and they laughed and cried and hugged until Christine protested their neglect with an indignant squawk.

Brennan picked up the unhappy child and handed her to Booth, nestling herself close to his side as he held their daughter for the first time in months.

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Seriously. It's not over yet. Want to yell at me for having chapters written but not posted? Think Booth is going to be in trouble for taking off after Brennan? Want to know more about the baby dolphin? Leave a review and let me know.


	7. And Lost Again

**Note: **And here we go ...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

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They stopped at a pay phone by the zoo entrance. Booth called the office and verified that the charges against Brennan had been dropped. Brennan in turn called Angela, and Booth took Christine on a walk around the entrance area as Brennan assured Angela she as all right and made arrangements to see her when they were back in DC.

Lately Brennan had been relying on public transportation, so the first order of business was to find a car seat. Two hours later, the car seat was securely strapped into Booth's borrowed car, they had enjoyed a nourishing meal at a local diner, and the three of them were ensconced in Brennan's hotel room. Christine lay on the bed, kicking her feet and laughing big belly laughs at Booth's silly faces while Brennan packed her meager possessions for their morning departure.

Booth made another face, but Christine had had enough. She started shrieking. Booth picked her up to comfort her, but she wanted nothing more to do with him. She kept screaming and kicking, trying to twist her body away from Booth, until she was safely in her mother's arms.

**BbB**

On the other side of the bed, Brennan was fast asleep, with Christine sleeping peacefully between them. Booth, for his part, lay awake, unable to fall asleep.

He'd missed _so much_. Christine had grown and changed as infants do, and he'd missed it all. He almost didn't recognize her as the same child.

She definitely didn't recognize him. When she'd looked straight at him and screamed for her mother, he'd been hurt. Now that he'd had more time to think about it, he wasn't hurt. He was angry - angry that he'd missed months of his daughter's life, angry at Pelant for targeting Brennan, angry at Bones for running and taking Christine with her. Telling himself that she'd had no choice didn't make him any less angry.

He rolled onto his side and adjusted the pillow. He really had to get some sleep.

It was going to be a long drive home.

**BbB**

The sun was just peeking through the curtains when Brennan woke. The clock radio beside the bed told her it was 6:15, which meant Christine would be up soon. She padded to the bathroom and managed to be showered and dressed by the time Christine started to stir. Booth was still asleep, so she fed Christine in darkness, treasuring the quiet time with her child.

It was just as well that Booth was asleep. There was a strain in their relationship that she'd never felt before. She couldn't quite define what it was, but at dinner the night before there had been gaps in the conversation, and when she'd kissed him after Christine fell asleep, he'd kissed her back only briefly before pulling away.

He was obviously still angry with her for leaving.

Booth woke and stumbled into the bathroom without speaking. A moment later, she heard the shower start. The last time she'd seen him, she would have thought nothing of stripping off her clothes and joining him. Now, the distance between them made her sure she wouldn't be welcome.

She put the odds and ends that hadn't been packed the night before into her bag and prepared to leave. They had a long drive ahead of them.

**BbB**

They opened the front door to find the house full of people – Max, Russ and Amy, Jared and Padme, Parker and Rebecca, Cam, Sweets, Angela and Hodgins, a few FBI agents, a variety of squinterns – even Caroline was there, holding court in Booth's favourite chair as Parker played video games with Russ and Amy's girls and Michael mimicked them with a TV remote. Their first moments were taken up in a swirl of hugs and handshakes as everyone welcomed them home.

Someone had ordered food, and the celebration continued over dinner. By the time the last guest had left, they were both exhausted. They settled Christine in her crib and walked into the hall.

"Do you want me to sleep in the guest room?"

Booth hadn't expected Brennan to pick up on his unease, but then again, she'd always been able to read him, even though she couldn't relate to most people. Once, the thought of separate bedrooms would have been unbearable, but right now it felt like a gift.

"Yes."

Brennan nodded, not quite able to hide the hurt from her face, and murmured, "Good night." He stood there in silence until the door clicked shut behind her.

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So here's the deal. I'm going on vacation soon – the kind of vacation where internet access is rare. I had originally planned to finish the story and update whenever I got the chance, but based on the lack of reviews, there isn't enough interest for me to worry about it on vacation. Long story short, it'll probably be a couple of weeks until the next chapter. That doesn't mean I don't want to hear what you thought of this one. :)


	8. Space

**Note: **Thanks to those who took the time to review and reassure me people are reading & enjoying this story. I leave tonight - I have a bunch of things I need to do but I can't do any of them until later in the day - and I wanted to update one more time. The rest of the story is finished and uploaded, so there's no need to fear I'll abandon the story - it just might be a week or two before it gets posted. **  
**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

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It took three long weeks for the Jeffersonian board to agree allow Brennan to go back to work. She should have been happy being at home, having her life back, but Booth showed no signs of trying to bridge the distance between them. It was, she thought, his call to make – she'd hurt him badly, and perhaps he no longer wanted a relationship with her.

She wondered whether their changed relationship would have survived the first month if she hadn't found herself pregnant the first time they'd had intercourse. He had been angry at her for hurting him then, and that was before she robbed him of his daughter for months.

Since she'd been back, they had fallen into a routine of sorts, living separate lives, albeit in the same house. Brennan tried to make herself scarce in the evenings. Booth and Christine deserved the time together, and she didn't want to rob them of it. She'd already taken so much from them both.

Booth doted on their daughter, taking her to the park and spending hours explaining the sporting events he watched on the overly large television he'd insisted on buying when the house was finally finished. Christine, for her part, had adjusted to having Booth back in her life, and her face lit up with joy whenever she saw him. Brennan didn't want to intrude.

Besides, she had a lot to catch up on. She was a month behind on her next book, and there were several journals that had been published in her absence. She needed to stay on top of the latest discoveries if she wanted to remain one of the top forensic anthropologists in the world.

**BbB**

He missed her.

It seemed stupid to miss someone who was asleep down the hall, but ever since they'd come back, there had been a distance between them. They were too polite, each of them afraid that saying the wrong thing that would bring their fragile relationship crashing down around them.

He missed bickering about what to eat or who should drive. He missed spending lazy Sunday afternoons in bed while Christine napped. He missed her snitching his fries over lunch at the diner.

He missed his friend.

And he had no idea how to get her back.

**BbB**

"Sweetie!"

Brennan was later than she'd wanted to be – it was harder than she'd remembered to leave Christine to go to work – and Angela had obviously beaten her to the office. She dropped her bag in her office and walked down to the Jeffersonian cafeteria with her best friend as they did every morning they were both in the office.

They sat down to eat their breakfast, and the conversation flowed as it always had, each of them filling the other in on what they'd missed.

They finished their food and started back to work. When they were almost at the Medico-Legal lab, Brennan asked, "Angela? Is anyone renting Zach's old apartment at Hodgins's place?"

"No. Why?" Angela answered, her mind already on the work piled up on her desk.

Brennan smiled sadly. "I'm looking for a new place."

Angela stopped dead in her tracks. "_What?_"

"Booth …" Brennan stopped, taking a deep breath to avoid breaking down in tears. "It's not working out with us, Ange. He's angry … and he _should_ be. He … he hasn't even kissed me since I got home."

Angela patted her forearm. "That doesn't mean he wants you to _leave_, Bren. The man loves you."

"He used to", Brennan agreed.

**BbB**

He deserved a medal, Booth thought, for not shooting that mopey squintern Bones had sent to the crime scene. He didn't care how much of a genius the kid was, that tea he drank made him smell almost as bad as the corpse they'd found buried in a shallow grave.

Booth opened the door to the house and hung his coat in the closet. He was obviously the first one home, which meant it was his turn to start dinner. By the time Brennan and Christine walked through the door, supper was bubbling on the stove.

Gone were the days of Christine turning from him and searching for her mother – now, her face lit up and her arms and legs waved frantically when she saw him. As usual, he picked her up and tossed her in the air as she giggled. As they played, Brennan smiled wanly at him and walked up the stairs.

He'd heard a joke once that babies absorb food through their faces, and based on Christine's face after dinner, there was some truth to that. While Brennan cleaned up, he bathed Christine and got her dressed in her pajamas. Brennan joined him as he was tucking her into her crib, kissing their daughter good night as she did every night. They walked out of her bedroom together, and as he moved towards the family room, Brennan asked, "Booth? Can I talk to you?"

**BbB**

She was crying as she walked up the steps to the garage apartment, her suitcase in her hand. She reached the landing and set down the suitcase to fumble for the key Angela had given her. The door opened to reveal her best friend.

Seconds later, Angela's arms were around her, holding her as she cried.

**BbB**

Booth was having a crappy day. He'd missed a call from Max while he was in the shower, which reminded him that sooner or later Max would find out Bones had moved out. Christine had been fussy, and dropping her off at the Jeffersonian daycare had made him late for a mandatory meeting. He had piles of paperwork he'd been neglecting, and he was pretty sure his lunch was still sitting on the kitchen counter.

The phone rang – Cam again – and he glared at it as if that would make her stop calling. When it finally stopped ringing, he turned back to his paperwork and forced himself to concentrate.

Thirty minutes later, there was a knock on his door. He looked up, ready to glare at the agent who was foolish enough to interrupt him, only to see Cam standing there.

He glared anyway, to no avail. "Get your coat, Seeley, I'm taking you to lunch."

Apparently his day wasn't going to get any better, either.

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Give me a reason to check my e-mail. :)**  
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	9. Time

**Note: **Thanks to all those who left me reviews. My internet access was both slow and expensive, so I wasn't able to update, but I'm home now, so here's the next chapter. **  
**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

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Brennan walked into the daycare and signed her daughter out. It was a beautiful day, so she covered Christine with sunscreen, tied the sun hat onto her head, and took her out into the Jeffersonian gardens.

These stolen moments during the day were the only times she allowed herself to spend with the child she loved more than she'd imagined possible. She missed having Christine around all the time, but it was only fair that Booth have their daughter to himself for a while. She'd had the baby to herself for months.

She missed her, though. It had been hard to look after Christine on her own, but it was far harder to go home to her spartan apartment without her daughter.

Soon they'd have to work out a shared custody arrangement. She'd find a place more appropriate for life with a baby and they'd go on with their lives.

Sooner or later, Booth would meet someone new, a woman who would be a part of Christine's life the way she had so briefly been part of Parker's. Before long, the only thing she would be to Booth was another failed relationship.

She'd be alone, as she'd always expected she'd be.

**BbB**

Having a group of friends who were so tightly entwined had been great when Bones was gone, but now it seemed stifling. They all felt like they were entitled to an opinion about his relationship with Bones, and had no qualms about sharing it. Since Monday, he'd been yelled at by both Cam and Caroline. Sweets, Wendell and Hodgins made quasi-sympathetic noises while hinting he should call her, and Angela … well, he wouldn't want to run into Angela in a dark alley.

He understood where they were coming from. Hell, they'd been invested in him and Bones getting together long before it had happened. "It will make our friends happy" wasn't any sort of basis for a healthy relationship, though.

He was starting to wonder whether he was even capable of a healthy relationship. Maybe he should take the hint that he was meant to be alone.

**BbB**

"Hi, sweetheart."

Brennan looked up from the stack of mail in her hand to see her father sitting on her office couch. "Hi, dad."

Max pulled himself to his feet and hugged her. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good, dad", Brennan answered, not quite meeting Max's eyes.

"How's Booth?"

He could see her start at the question, but she took a calming breath and answered, "Fine. Booth is fine."

"Really?" he asked, "Rumour tells me you've moved out. I can't imagine the Booth I know being fine with that."

She intensely disliked the way Max always managed to know everything that was going on in her life while keeping his own life incredibly private. "That's between us, dad", she answered, her tone sharper than she'd meant for it to be.

He looked hurt when he left her office, but she tried not to care. After all, he was the one who told her to run. Why did the things Max did out of love always end with her losing someone she loved?

**BbB**

He swore he'd only left her for a minute, but when he got out of the bathroom, she was gone.

His first thought was that she had been taken – by a stranger, by someone he'd put away, by Max up to no good. He'd wanted an excuse to call Brennan, but this wasn't what he'd been hoping for.

When he found her, wrapped around a table leg a room away from where he'd left her, he dropped to the floor and scooped her into his arms, only loosening his grip when she squawked her displeasure at being held so close.

He didn't even think about calling Brennan back until she walked through the door. He looked up at her, tears in his eyes. "She's OK, Bones."

Brennan dropped to the floor beside him and wrapped her arms around them both. "What happened?"

Booth grinned and set Christine on the floor. "I think she can crawl."

Christine pushed herself up on her arms but couldn't quite master the art of crawling. She slid backwards an inch or two and tried again. Brennan grinned back at Booth. "It appears she can scoot, anyway."

**BbB**

"Agent Booth!"

Booth shut the door and collapsed onto the couch. "Hey, Sweets."

The psychologist turned away from his computer and asked, "What can I do for you?"

It took a minute for Booth to work up the courage to answer. "I got a call from Bones's lawyer." He jumped to his feet and started pacing around the small office.

"Oh?" Sweets used his most professional, shrink-like voice.

"Yeah." Booth sat down again. "She said … Bones wants us to work out a custody agreement."

"That seems very sensible", Sweets replied, hoping this wasn't a shoot-the-messanger situation.

"Sensible?" It was almost a shout.

"You aren't living with Dr. Brennan anymore. You share a child. It's sensible to work out how that's going to work. It doesn't surprise me that Dr. Brennan wants that on paper."

Booth glared at him.

"The question is", Sweets said, taking his life in his hands, "what do you want?"

**BbB**

Booth signed Christine out of daycare, Sweets's question still ringing in his ears.

What _did _he want?

He nodded at the security guard and stepped out into the sunshine. It was a short walk to the parking structure, and soon he was strapping the baby into her car seat and putting the car in gear.

He turned at the corner and, as he passed the diner, noticed their table was free. On an impulse he couldn't quite explain, he pulled to the curb and pulled out his cell phone.

When Brennan walked in, Christine almost leapt out of his arms. The waitress bustled over with their coffee and left them menus they had memorized years before. Brennan busied herself with the baby on her lap while Booth soaked in the sight of the two of them together. Not so long ago, he'd wondered whether he'd ever see either of them again.

"You didn't trust me."

The words were out of his mouth before he realized he was going to speak. Across the table, Brennan met his eyes for the first time since she'd walked in.

"I did trust you, Booth. I do."

He shook his head, angry all over again. "No, Bones, if you had _trusted_ me, you would have told me you were going to run. You would have asked me to go with you." He leaned towards her and whispered angrily, deliberately not allowing himself to start yelling in the middle of a public place.

She leaned towards him. "Booth, you love being an FBI agent. I didn't want to cost you your job."

The tension was broken by their waitress, who brought over a high chair and took their orders. She left, promising the food wouldn't be long.

Brennan settled the baby into the high chair and handed her a spoon. As Christine happily banged the spoon against the table, Brennan said, "I know what it's like to be left behind. I didn't want to leave you, but I thought it was the best choice."

"I should have had a vote", Booth said resentfully.

"Yes", Brennan agreed solemnly. "If it helps, I missed you every day."

"I missed you, too, Bones." He had nothing more to lose, and he took a chance he hadn't planned to take. "I still do."

"So", Brennan asked, "where do we go from here?"

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Any ideas where you want them to go from here?


	10. Home

**Note: **Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad people are still enjoying this story after the break.**  
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**Disclaimer: **I don't own them.

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Brennan handed over the diaper bag, a list of written instructions about Christine's routine, and a sheet of paper containing her cell number, Booth's cell number, the number of the restaurant, her pediatrician's personal cell phone number, and hotlines for several different types of emergencies.

Angela listened patiently, aware that Brennan needed to give her the information far more than she needed to receive it. When Brennan was done, she took Christine in her arms and said, "Come on, kiddo, you're coming home with me and Michael."

Brennan smoothed her hair. "Do I look OK?", she asked.

Angela smiled at her. "You look great, Bren. You're going to knock his socks off."

"I hope so", Brennan answered. "Is it strange that I'm nervous? It's been a long time since I've had a first date."

"Only you and Booth would have your first date after knowing each other for 8 years, living together, and having a child", Angela laughed. "Relax, you'll be fine. Go, have dinner, just don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"I can't think of anything you wouldn't do."

"_Exactly. _And you can give me the details when you pick up Christine tomorrow morning."

**BbB**

Booth walked into the Medico-Legal lab, as he had done so many times before. Hodgins and Wendell were on the platform, and he nodded at them as he walked past. He opened the door of Brennan's office and stepped inside, not for the first time cursing the fact that the walls were clear glass.

She looked beautiful.

He couldn't really remember why he'd been skeptical when the couples' counselor Sweets had recommended had suggested that he take Bones on a date. Looking at her in that dress made it seem like an exceptionally good idea, after all.

They'd been taking it slow – they were still living in separate places, but they met for counseling twice a week, lunch at least once, a joint activity with Christine on the weekend – and he really thought things were getting better. For two people who talked as frequently as they did, they had had a way of avoiding the hard topics – at least until they blew up into a disaster. He was working through his anger, and she was making an effort to let him know what was going on in her life – even when she could handle it herself.

He'd even started to hope that she'd move back home, that they could all be a family again.

He realized that he'd been staring at her for too long, and managed to stutter, "You look great, Bones."

She smiled that smile he hadn't seen in far too long, and replied, "You do too." She picked up her bag and asked, "Shall we go?"

He waited as she locked her office and they walked out to the car, his hand at the small of her back.

**BbB**

The service at the restaurant was agonizingly slow, but they were having such a good time that it was no more than a minor annoyance. They talked for hours and, when their waiter finally put their dessert in front of them, Brennan took one bite and leaned close to Booth.

"Let's go home", she whispered.

"You mean … together?" he stuttered.

She nodded mischievously, and he threw some bills on the table. Hand in hand, they walked out of the restaurant, breaking into a run as soon as the door closed behind them. By the time they reached the truck, they were laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of their sprint across the parking lot.

The roads were deserted, and Booth was pretty sure he broke several traffic laws on the way home. He pulled into their driveway and walked around to her side of the vehicle, where she was waiting impatiently. "Are you sure?", he asked.

"Yes", she answered, "I'm ready to come home."

He unlocked the front door and ushered her in. As the door clicked shut behind them, he kissed her, pouring all his love into the kiss.

They broke apart and stood for a moment, their foreheads touching, then Booth held out his hand.

"Welcome home, Bones."

She took his hand, and they walked upstairs together.

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I was considering an epilogue, but I think we're done.


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